Thought everyone would be very interested in this! Taken from the www.autoexpress.co.uk website (check the site out for a pic of the car).

Meet New Focus Cossie

ord's legendary Cosworth is back! And the big news for blue oval fans is that the name will be used on flagship versions of hot Fiestas and Focuses all developed by the company's new performance division - Team RS.

Jost Capito, the German boss of the newly formed Team RS division, has exclusively revealed the first details of the new Focus Cosworth, allowing us to bring you these exclusive pictures and giving us an exciting taster of the supercar-chasing hatch, which is due for launch next year.

Capito revealed that the RS and ST brands will also be expanded to cover other Ford products. And although these will be the top-sellers, it's the Cosworth models which will be the true 'hero' cars. He told us that some within Ford thought that Cosworth should become a luxury sporting brand. "This was wrong," he said. "The Cosworth should be even more ex-treme than the RS Focus. It should be lightweight, stripped out, have more performance and be more extreme. Maybe it wouldn't even have air-conditioning."

Capito - whose past experience includes working on BMW's M3 and Porsche's 911 - also told Auto Express that a future Focus Cosworth is unlikely to be front-wheel drive. "Would a Cos-worth ever be front-drive? A Cosworth would have to deliver 225bhp-plus. When you see what we had to do with the front differential on the RS Focus to make it work properly, that power would be too much for the front wheels.

"There's a limit on front-wheel drive. But it depends on how the power is deployed. You can take it off with the traction control system - so in theory you could have a 300bhp front-drive car. But what's the point? The driver would not feel the power. For real performance we need 220-240bhp - that's hard in a front-drive car like the RS."

According to insiders, the new Focus Cosworth would see it based on the next Focus (due to be unveiled in May) and powered by either a turbo-charged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine or a new version of the Volvo V50's 225bhp turbocharged five-cylinder unit. But Capito hinted that the new powerplant would have to be able to rev freely to 7,000rpm and beyond.

This car would also use the same basic 4x4 chassis as the new V50 T5 AWD. But the Cossie - which won't appear until late next year at the earliest - would be much lighter and more raw than the baby Volvo. Expect minimal noise insulation, lightweight race-style seats, a quick-shifting six-speed manual transmission and suspension and braking components directly inspired by Ford's WRC Focus cars. On the outside, it will take its cue from today's RS, although stylists want the Cosworth's trademark wing to return. And the chassis will also be honed for driving pleasure by Team RS engineers on UK roads - unlike the RS Focus.

Said Capito: "Not enough of the chassis work on the Focus RS was done in the UK on B-roads. It was set up for German roads and the Nürburg-ring race circuit - it is fantastic there. Yet some drivers really wanted a beast of a car - and why not? But we rec-ognise that the majority of Ford's performance car customers are in the UK.

"If the new car can be made to handle well on UK B-roads and motorways, it should work on any roads. Every change we make to the chassis during development will be tested on B-roads and motorways."

By establishing the Cosworth brand, Capito says that the next-generation Focus RS can be less extreme. His team has already sat down to define Ford's three performance brands - ST, RS and Cosworth. "We had to agree what an ST is, what an RS is and what a potential Cosworth is. We thought of analogies with animals - an ST is a dolphin, an RS is a shark and a Cosworth would be a white shark." He describes how this will translate: "An RS will be for driving fun and track day use. And it should be a surprising car that might only be on sale for 18 months or so." Capito hinted the next RS wouldn't have a turbo engine and would be able to rev up to 8,500rpm - like key rival, the Honda Civic Type R.

But Capito pretty much ruled out an RS Mondeo, which would be too big for B-road driving. However, the next-generation Mondeo (due in late 2005) will have the option of four-wheel drive, so a stripped-out Mondeo Cosworth, inspired by touring cars, is possible.

Capito's team will also be developing ST versions of the Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo. "I want the ST brand to be better known," he said. "I want the ST experience to be consistent, like VW's GTI brand. It should be a great compromise between sporting handling and everyday use."

Capito wouldn't say, but it's thought the next Focus ST will have a light-pressure turbo engine delivering around 180bhp - enabling it to challenge the MkV Golf GTI. At last, it seems that Ford is finally back in the fast car game and fighting for supremacy

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh somebody get me a glass of water I have to lie down. Turbo ST (Astra Turbo Killer), RS (VTEC, Integra Type R and Honda anything Killer) and the mighty mighty Cossie... ohhh talk about Scooby killer. It'll go like the clappers and sell like stolen stereos in Punchbowl on a Saturday morning... Ford is now exploiting the world's best car... only took them 6 years...

There is no reality of truth in that article or any others that have been around for the last few years.

Here's a little reply to this article on another forum im part of by a chap who works for Ford Prototype Development.

"Articles like this make me smile no end.........

It's pure guess work - there's no fact behind any of that. All pictures are a computer mock up guess work - not based on anything we have at Ford

There are only two cars on that release list that actually exist - the Fiesta ST and new Focus ST.

Expect the Fiesta ST to be released later than that, probably near the end of the year. Fiesta RS, late 2004?? It doesn't even exist yet, there are plans but they've not even been approved!!! No chance.

Focus RS and Focus Cossie? Plans for both, neither approved, neither exist. i expect these two to be the most likely, but those dates are completely unrealistic. They'de never be ready by then.

Mondeo ST - well that's basic guess work, just to replace the current model. There probably will be, but certainly not even plans at the moment.

Mondeo Cosworth Pure fantasy.

Like is said, articles like this make me smile

I have an old autocar years before the Focus RS came out that said it would be out in 2001, 300bhp, 4 wheel drive, and a mocked up picture that looks nothing like the real car.

So being realistic... Ford seems to have "no plans" to do any of that stuff according to your mate... come to think of it... Ford doing bugger all, not doing what the market wants and waiting years to get the crap beaten out of it in many markets before giving a half arsed attempt to satisfy customers... that DOES sound more realistic come to think of it!!!! That's the Ford we know and love.

We should look at it like this... that by magazines printing articles like these will only hopefully encourage Ford to get their skates on and develop what all the Ford lovers want and have been craving for years!

Fireman you can believe all you like but i have known this chap for quite a long while now. :o) If you wish i can also post a link on the forum to the original post i quoted from but i don't see what thats going to prove. I'm not on here to make false claims, but to provide whatever knowledge or help i may.

Fireman you can believe all you like but i have known this chap for quite a long while now. :o) If you wish i can also post a link on the forum to the original post i quoted from but i don't see what thats going to prove. I'm not on here to make false claims, but to provide whatever knowledge or help i may.

I never said I believed the article, I'll just take it with a grain of salt as I will with what you've said.
I'll believe it when I see some hard evidence (like when one is sitting in a dealers showroom, with a price tag on it)

the point to me is this. even if these cars were developed as said...by the times stated....there is almost no chance they'd get shipped out here to aus....we don't even have the focus rs here..why in hell would they give us a cosworth. i think if we want that sort of car...we either have to hound fpv to do somthing...or do it ourselves.

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